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Smalltown Boy
"Smalltown Boy" is a 1984 song by the British synthpop group Bronski Beat. It was released in June 1984, and appeared on the band's debut album The Age of Consent, released in December 1984. The song is a popular gay anthem and was a big commercial success, reaching number 3 in the band's native UK. It was also a number one hit in the Netherlands and Belgium, and hit the top 10 in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland and Switzerland. The track reached number 48 in the US pop chart and was a number one US dance hit. The song was released again in December 2013 after featuring in a Christmas advertising campaign for Boots UK. Smalltown boy was also re-recorded by Jimmy Somerville and released as Smalltown Boy Reprise (2014) for the 30th anniversary of its initial release.4 Contents 1 Song meaning 2 Music video 3 Track listings and formats 4 Charts 4.1 Weekly charts 4.2 Year-end charts 4.3 Sales and certifications 4.4 Chart precessions and successions 5 Cover versions 6 References 7 External links Song meaning The song addresses key issues in 1980s LGBT culture. It addresses family rejection for being homosexual and homophobia in British society. It also deals with loneliness and bullying through societal and familial rejection. Music video An official music video was shot and released later in 1984. The narrative video features band member Jimmy Somerville as the boy who has experienced the issues described in the lyrics. Seen on a train, he is contemplating his childhood through flashbacks and the events that have caused him to leave his parents' home. At a swimming pool, his friends (played by band members Larry Steinbachek and Steve Bronski) dare him to approach a young man that he is attracted to, for which he is later attacked in an alley by a homophobic gang led by the man he had approached at the swimming pool. A police officer brings him back to his home. It is implied that the boy's parents learn of his homosexuality for the first time through this incident and are shocked, but only the father seems unsupportive. The boy then catches a train to London, on which he is reunited with his friends. Track listings and formats 7" single BITE 1 1."Smalltown Boy" – 3:58 2."Memories" – 2:55 7" single 820 091-7 1."Smalltown Boy" – 3:58 2."Memories" – 3:00 12" single BITEX 1 / 820 996-1 / 9-29 017 / LDSPX 215 1."Smalltown Boy" – 9:00 2."Infatuation/Memories" – 7:38 12" single MCA-23521 1."Smalltown Boy" – 9:00 2."Infatuation/Memories" – 7:42 Charts Weekly charts Chart (1984–85) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)5 8 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)6 1 Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)7 1 Canada (CHUM)8 3 Canada Top Singles (RPM)9 9 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)10 18 Germany (Official German Charts)11 3 France (SNEP)12 8 Ireland (IRMA)13 4 Italy (FIMI)14 2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)15 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)16 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)17 5 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)18 2 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)19 3 US Billboard Hot 10020 48 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play20 1 US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales20 4 US Cash Box21 32 Chart (1991) Peak position Germany (Official German Charts)22 28 Ireland (IRMA)13 16 Netherlands (Single Top 100)23 72 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)24 32 Chart (1994) Peak position Italy (FIMI)25 23 Chart (2013) Peak position UK Singles (Official Charts Company)26 95 Year-end charts Chart (1984) Position Australia (Kent Music Report)27 59 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)28 12 France (IFOP)29 41 Italy (FIMI)30 7 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)31 15 Netherlands (Single Top 100)32 21 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)33 13 Chart (1985) Peak position Canada (RPM Top Singles)34 86 Sales and certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Canada (Music Canada)35 Gold 50,000^ France 375,00036 United Kingdom (BPI)37 Gold 500,000^ *sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone Chart precessions and successions Preceded by "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood Belgian Ultratop 50 Flanders number-one single 8 September 1984 (1 week) Succeeded by "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr. Belgian VRT Top 30 Flanders number-one single 8 September 1984 (1 week) Succeeded by "I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder Dutch Top 40 number-one single 25 August 1984 – 1 September 1984 (2 weeks) Succeeded by "Careless Whisper" by George Michael Single Top 100 number-one single 25 August 1984 (1 week) Preceded by "Loverboy" by Billy Ocean US Hot Dance Club Play number-one single 16 February 1985 (1 week) Succeeded by "Sugar Walls" by Sheena Easton Cover versions In 1997 a Eurohouse version was produced by Legato.38 In 2002, the song appeared on Paradise Lost's album, Symbol of Life39 In 2002 and 2003, it was covered by the French rock band Indochine on their Paradize Tour.40 In 2010, Irish singer Sharon Corr covered the song with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. A studio version was recorded and the song receives regular airplay on radio in Ireland.41 In 2013, Dutch symphonic metal band Delain covered the song which is featured on their album Interlude.42 In 2013, Austrian AOR band Cornerstone covered "Smalltown Boy" as a charity single for the "Room to Breathe" campaign to support cystic fibrosis research at Nottingham City Hospital. Their version reached number 50 in the Austria Top 75 on 20 December 2013.43 In 2013, German melodic death metal band Deadlock covered the song which is featured on their album The Arsonist.44 In 2015, Belgian dance singer Kate Ryan covered the song under the title "Runaway" which is featured on the various artists compilation album MNM Summertime 2015. In 2015, The Killers lead singer Brandon Flowers sampled the song for the track "I Can Change" from his second solo album The Desired Effect. References 1.Jump up ^ Vivinetto, Gina (9 March 2015). "Pop Icon Jimmy Somerville: A Career Overview". The Advocate. Retrieved 9 May 2015. 2.Jump up ^ MarkWilson (18 May 2011). "Emilie Simon Releases "Smalltown Boy"". AltSounds. Retrieved 10 May 2015. 3.Jump up ^ Walters, Barry (20 June 2000). "His beat goes on". The Advocate (Here Publishing): 115. ISSN 0001-8996. "As Bronski Beat's falsetto leader, Somerville made gay politics a hot pop topic with such hi-NRG dance floor staples as "Why?" and "Smalltown Boy"" 4.Jump up ^ "Watch Jimmy Somerville Re Record Small Town Boy". Slicing Up Eyeballs. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2015. 5.Jump up ^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Chart Positions Pre 1989 Part 4". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 6.Jump up ^ "Ultratop.be – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 7.Jump up ^ "Radio 2 Top 30 : 8 september 1984" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 8.Jump up ^ CHART NUMBER 1463 – Wednesday, January 09, 1985 at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 November 2006). CHUM. Retrieved 4 July 2014. 9.Jump up ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9533." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 10.Jump up ^ European Top 50 Singles – compiled by Europarade at the Wayback Machine (archived 4 July 2014). Retrieved 4 July 2014. 11.Jump up ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 12.Jump up ^ "Lescharts.com – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 13.^ Jump up to: a b "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Smalltown Boy". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 July 2013. Cite error: Invalid tag; name "sc_Ireland2_" defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). 14.Jump up ^ "HitParadeItalia – Top10 del 10 Novembre 1984" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 15.Jump up ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 16.Jump up ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 17.Jump up ^ "Charts.org.nz – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 18.Jump up ^ "Swisscharts.com – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 19.Jump up ^ "Archive Chart: 1984-06-23" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 20.^ Jump up to: a b c "Bronski Beat – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 21.Jump up ^ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending MARCH 16, 1985 at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 October 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 4 July 2014. 22.Jump up ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jimmy Somerville with Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy (1991 Remix)". GfK Entertainment. 23.Jump up ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jimmy Somerville with Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy (1991 Remix)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. 24.Jump up ^ "Archive Chart: 1991-02-09" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 25.Jump up ^ "Indice per Interprete: B" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 26.Jump up ^ "Bronski Beat: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 May 2015. 27.Jump up ^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2014. 28.Jump up ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1984" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2014. 29.Jump up ^ "TOP – 1984" (in French). Top-france.fr. Retrieved 4 July 2014. 30.Jump up ^ "I singoli più venduti del 1984" (in Italian). Hit Parade Italia. Creative Commons. Retrieved 4 July 2014. 31.Jump up ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1984" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 4 July 2014. 32.Jump up ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1984" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2014. 33.Jump up ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1984" (in German). Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 July 2014. 34.Jump up ^ "Top Singles – Volume 43, No. 16, December 28, 1985". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 22 July 2013. 35.Jump up ^ "Canadian single certifications – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy". Music Canada. 36.Jump up ^ "Les Meilleures Ventes Tout Temps de 45 T. / Singles" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 4 July 2014. 37.Jump up ^ "British single certifications – Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Smalltown Boy in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search 38.Jump up ^ "Legato – Small Town Boy". Last.fm. Retrieved 30 April 2014. 39.Jump up ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Paradise Lost – Symbol of Life". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 4 May 2015. 40.Jump up ^ "Indochine – Smalltown boy". YouTube. 22 May 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2014. 41.Jump up ^ "Sharon Corr "Smalltown Boy"". YouTube. Retrieved 19 January 2014. 42.Jump up ^ "Delain – Smalltown Boy". Last.fm. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 43.Jump up ^ "Cornerstone – Smalltown Boy" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 April 2015. 44.Jump up ^ "Album Review: Deadlock – "The Arsonist"". New Noise Magazine. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2015. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics hide v · t · e Jimmy Somerville Bronski Beat · The Communards · Discography Studio albums Bronski Beat The Age of Consent (1984) · Rainbow Nation (1995) The Communards Communards (1986) · Red (1987) Read My Lips (1989) · Dare to Love (1995) · Manage the Damage (1999) · Home Again (2004) · Suddenly Last Summer (2009) · Homage (2015) Remix albums Bronski Beat Hundreds & Thousands (1985) Root Beer (2000) Live albums The Communards Storm Paris (1988) Compilations The Communards Heaven (1993) · Het Beste Van The Communards (2005) · The Platinum Collection (2006) Best (1989) · The Singles Collection 1984/1990 (1990) · Master Series (1991) · The Very Best of Jimmy Somerville, Bronski Beat and The Communards (2001) · The Essentials (2002) · For a Friend: The Best of Bronski Beat, The Communards & Jimmy Somerville (2009) · Dance & Desire: Rarities & Videos (2014) Other albums Fine Young Cannibals (1985) · (VA) Red Hot + Blue (1990) · (OST) Orlando (1993) · Plagiarism (1997) · Another Gay Soundtrack (2006) · Clubland 10 (2006) Extended plays Bright Thing (2010) · Momentum (2011) Singles Bronski Beat "Smalltown Boy" (1984) · "Why?" (1984) · "It Ain't Necessarily So" (1984) · "I Feel Love" with Marc Almond (1985) · "Run from Love" (1985) · "Smalltown Boy ('94 Remix)" (1994) · "Why? (1995 Remix)" (1995) The Communards "You Are My World" (1985) · "Disenchanted" (1986) · "Don't Leave Me This Way" (1986) · "So Cold the Night" (1986) · "You Are My World ('87 Remix)" (1987) · "Tomorrow" (1987) · "Never Can Say Goodbye" (1987) · "For a Friend" (1988) · "There's More to Love" (1988) "Suspicious Minds" with Fine Young Cannibals (1986) · "The Last Infanta" with Uno (1988) · "Comment te dire adieu?" with June Miles-Kingston (1989) · "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" (1990) · "Read My Lips (Enough Is Enough)" (1990) · "To Love Somebody" (1990) · "Smalltown Boy ('91 Remix)" (1991) · "Run from Love ('91 Remix)" with Claudia Brücken · "Coming" (1993) · "Gimme Shelter" with Voice of the Beehive (1993) · "Heartbeat" (1995) · "Hurt So Good" (1995) · "By Your Side" (1995) · "Star" with The Weather Girls (1996) · "Safe" (1997) · "Dark Sky" (1997) · "The Number One Song in Heaven" with Sparks (1997) · "Something to Live for" (1999) · "Lay Down" (1999) · "Why? (Almighty Mix)" (2000) · "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (2001) · "It's So Good" (2004) · "Come On" (2004) · "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (2004) · "You & Me" with Blue Ray (2007) · "I Believe in Love (Remix)" with Arthur Baker (2011) Other songs "Love to Love You Baby" (1985) · "Johnny Remember Me" (1985} · "Lover Man" (1986) · "Do They Know It's Christmas?" with Band Aid II (1989) · "From This Moment On" (1990) · "Someday We'll Be Together" (1995) · "But Not Tonight" (2004) · "I Was Born This Way" (2006) · "Tell Me Why" (2006) Video albums Bronski Beat The First Chapter (1985) The Communards The Video Singles (1986) · Live at Full House Rock Show (2006) The Video Collection 1984/1990 (1990) Filmography Ahí Te Quiero Ver (TV series) (1987) · Looking for Langston (1989) · Orlando (1992) · Lexx: "Girltown" (TV series) (2000) Related articles Gay icon · London Records · Bronski Beat discography · Richard Coles · Red Wedge · Stephen Hague · DJ Tonka · Here and Now Tour · "Land of Confusion" Category Category · Wikipedia book Book · Portal Portal Category:1984 songs Category:1984 singles Category:1985 singles Category:1991 singles Category:Billboard Dance Club Songs number-one singles Category:Bronski Beat songs Category:Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Category:LGBT-related songs Category:London Records singles Category:Number-one debut singles Category:Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles